BUYER BEWARE: Barry Manley - Chattanooga Magic & Fun (LONG POST - CORRECTED)
John LeBlanc
clarifies something I muddled in the paragraph, "The short story".
BUYER BEWARE: Barry Manley & Chattanooga Magic & Fun
I am posting this as a public record of my recent bad experience with Barry
Manley and Chattanooga Magic & Fun. If this is of no interest to you, simply
ignore it. But I believe it's an important reminder that not everyone is
honorable in their dealings with magic buyers from another state. And I want
this information available for review by anyone even remotely considering
doing business with him and Chattanooga Magic & Fun, or with YBARRM on eBay.
* The short story:
Nine days after Barry Manley of Chatanooga Magic & Fun cancelled my order --
ostensibly in an effort to instead sell on eBay for a greater profit the two
Daryl books he agreed to sell to me directly -- I have yet to receive my
returned $50.00 money order. (FWIW, his additional profit -- before eBay
commissions -- was less than $20. A handsome sum of money to trade for a
reputation...)
Two emails sent on Monday of last week, March 29, to Barry Manley at
man...@mindspring.com have so far gone completely ignored and unanswered.
The email I sent to him last night regarding the status of my $50.00 money
order was answered this morning, wherein Barry informed me that a store
employee had been instructed to refuse my letter/order, rather than return
my $50.00 money order. This now means I have $50.00 blowing in the wind
somewhere...
His actions and unresponsiveness lead me to believe he is not to be trusted
as a dealer with whom I should do business.
* In case you're interested in my side of the story:
Just before lunch on Tuesday, March 23, 1999, I called Chattanooga Magic &
Fun in response to Barry Manley's post here in alt.magic the day before
offering for sale a copy of Daryl's "Secrets of a Puerto Rican Gambler".
Barry verified he had one copy left, as well as a copy of Daryl's "For Your
Entertainment Pleasure" and we agreed to $25.00 for "Secrets..." and $20.00
for "For Your Entertainment..." plus $5.00 for shipping and insurance, a
total of $50.00 paid via a money order.
While on the phone with him, he put me on hold and took a telephone call
from someone else who apparently was highly motivated to purchase this book.
Barry returned, laughing at the fact the other person wished to enter into a
bidding war with me over this title. He assured me the books were mine since
I was first to contact Chattanooga Magic & Fun.
I immediately followed up on this telephone conversation with an email to
Barry at man...@mindspring.com. In this email, I provided complete contact
and shipping information: my name, address, telephone number and email
address. I then arranged to have my wife mail out to Barry at Chattanooga
Magic & Fun a money order for $50.00 to cover my order.
Seven days ago, Monday March 29, I was informed by Barry Manley via email
that on the previous Saturday, March 27, he cancelled my telephone order I
placed with him just days earlier on Tuesday March 23. The reason he
provided was that, as of Saturday, he did not receive my money order so he
placed them on eBay for auction.
His email also stated that if I still wanted the books, I'd simply have to
bid against everyone else for them. He stated that he had a three-day limit
on phone orders -- a fact he curiously failed to mention to me on the phone.
Considering Barry had my name, telephone number and email address, and that
I made it _very clear_ I wanted these books, I think at minimum he should
have extended me the courtesy of an email to make certain I still wanted the
books and that the money order had indeed been sent. Chattanooga Magic & Fun
offers COD service, so payment should not have been a concern of his.
I immediately answered this email stating the above, and reminded him that
as a seller on eBay, he had the option of canceling his auctions and
honoring my order. There was no response.
I then called Chattanooga Magic & Fun and Barry answered. I identified mysel
f to him and mentioned the email I sent him. He curtly replied that he saw
it. I pointed out the part about honoring my order, and asked if he knew he
could do this. He said he was aware of it, and said he refused to cancel the
auction and honor the order he accepted previously.
I followed up this telephone conversation with another email, explaining
once again my disappointment in his actions, and that I didn't understand
how he could just cancel an order this way without even contacting the
seller first. Email is virtually free and instantaneous. I still have
received no response to this email.
Some business people do stupid things. I still cannot fathom how a man in
business would trade his name and reputation for an addition $20.00 bill,
but there you have it. Maybe the fact that Chattanooga Magic & Fun will be
soon going out of business anyway (according to Barry in our initial
telephone call) has something to do with this. Regardless, I will *never* do
business with Barry Manley and Chattanooga Magic & Fun.
There are many decent, honorable dealers with whom you can do business --
people like Joe Stevens and Stevens Magic Emporium
http://www.allmagic.com/stevensmagic, Richard Hatch at H&R Magic Books
http://www.magicbookshop.com, Dan & Jobeth Bradbury of Bradbury Books &
Beyond http://www.bradburybooks.com, Michael Canick of Michael Canick
Booksellers, LLC. can...@panix.com These have all earned my business, my
trust, and glowing recommendations. It's my belief they will also prove
worthy of your business, too.
All emails and telephone calls regarding this matter are documented for
reference. This afternoon, I will file with the Postmaster to trace my money
order. Feel free to contact me if you (impossibly) have any questions
regarding this. You should also contact Barry Manley at
man...@mindspring.com for his side before forming your complete opinion of
this, should it matter to you.
John LeBlanc
jwleblanc (at) earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~jwleblanc
Joe M. Turner
wrote:
> BUYER BEWARE: Barry Manley & Chattanooga Magic & Fun
Knowing John LeBlanc from several telephone, online and postal
interactions, I know that he is a man of his word. I also know he is
an ethical and generous man. I am pleased to call him a friend.
It pains me to see a description of an event like the one in John's
post, not just because the person who experienced it is a friend and a
magician, but also because I know the dealer in question and have had
relatively good experiences with him in the past.
Barry, if you're reading this, I hope you will post your version of
the story. I'm sure John would not begrudge us the chance to hear
another viewpoint. I'm confident that he has honestly represented the
facts, though. I'm a little surprised that you would force him to
enter an auction on materials you already agreed to sell to him at a
given price and for which he had already sent payment.
I travel through Chattanooga too often and enjoy magic enough that I
would hate to miss out on my occasional stops at Barry's store. I
enjoy the opportunity to pick up a book or something that I want or
need ON THE SPOT -- despite the occasional inflation on the price
compared to what I could find on the Internet. I definitely support
local magic shops and know that they are valuable to the magicians in
the community.
On the other hand, the world of magicians and magic is far, far too
small for word not to get around *p.d.q.* when someone is treated
poorly. I, for one, definitely want to hear the other side of the
story and hear how Barry is going to address the issues John raises.
Anxiously awaiting "the rest of the story"...
...
Regards,
Joe M. Turner
jmturner(at)mindspring(dot)com
Jimmy Fingers
"Joe M. Turner" wrote:
> On Mon, 5 Apr 1999 11:21:38 -0500, "John LeBlanc" <JWLe...@see.sig>
> wrote:
> > BUYER BEWARE: Barry Manley & Chattanooga Magic & Fun
>
> Knowing John LeBlanc from several telephone, online and postal
> interactions, I know that he is a man of his word. I also know he is
> an ethical and generous man. I am pleased to call him a friend.
I don't think that someone as grounded and solid as John is would ever
falsely accuse someone else in the magic world of an infraction such as
this without reason.
However, I've heard of another such occurrence on the behalf of another
magic bookseller in the alternative bookseller list that was given.
This other bookseller is a very good friend, long time acquaintance, and
one of the most honest people who I've ever met. I would never think
twice about sending my cash to him if he wanted it for something.
Another friend called this 'other' bookseller, and agreed upon a price.
The friend went to this other bookseller, and, upon arrival, was notified
that the books had been put on ebay, and the bookseller could not pass up
the profit.
This was a very honest bookseller, and yet, when ebay gets involved, their
word goes out the window.
My message here is, in the current business climate, the book is not yours
until it's actually in your hands.
However, I hope that John gets the FBI to take care of this 'Barry,
keeping the check...' once and for all, to set a precedent... it is a
federal offense to defraud someone using the US postal service, and
'Barry's' indifference and disdain for not just the laws, but simple
honesty, is a shame.
On another note, I find it more than acceptable to notify the readers of
this newsgroup of unethical and illegal behavior of individuals who try to
use magic to line their pockets with money that they've taken without
providing any service. Those who try to quell the stories of bad dealings
with builders, dealers and individuals may just be lucky enough to have
not been screwed by these people. And, there are many. There are several
who will rank your popularity, standing in the magic community, and then
decide whether you are worth going through with the deal.
Jimmy Fingers
My free book, Finger Magic, at
http://members.tripod.com/~imagique/magic.html
Ixnay
Chris Bailey
<Joe M. Turner (Joe M. Turner)> wrote in message
news:37094380...@news.mindspring.com...
> On Mon, 5 Apr 1999 11:21:38 -0500, "John LeBlanc" <JWLe...@see.sig>
> wrote:
> > BUYER BEWARE: Barry Manley & Chattanooga Magic & Fun
>
> Knowing John LeBlanc from several telephone, online and postal
> interactions, I know that he is a man of his word. I also know he is
> an ethical and generous man. I am pleased to call him a friend.
>
Janhing
anything to do with him. Unfortunately, he is a miserable person that
doesn't have much integrity.
I don't say this to be mean. It's just on the outside he seems like an
okay kind of guy, but inside he really doesn't like what he's doing.
He does have a wonderful magic shop, it's just all of his money is
tied up in inventory (that's why he's miserable.)
I won't bother the newsgroup with my story about him (unless if
someone wants to hear it.) In the end, it's just bitching anyways.
Later,
Janhing